Echinacea Harvest
Once again our Echinacea harvests are here! In this blog post we will cover all thing Echinacea, how we harvest this amazing herb and the products it is featured in.
What is Echinacea?
Echinacea has been a traditional herbal treatment for hundreds of years. The name can be traced to ‘echinos’, the Greek word for hedgehog, presumably reflecting the spines in the centre of the flower.
The natural habitat of Echinacea is dry, barren land – but with a proper care and nutrients, such as on Herbfarmacy farm, these plants can flourish in any temperate climate.
Belonging to the daisy family, there are three varieties of Echinacea used for herbal remedies: angustifolia, pallida and purpurea. On Herbfarmacy’s five-acre farm, we grow Echinacea Purpurea which gives a vibrant, bright pink flower. This year is probably the best crop yet!
How we harvest this herb?
Echinacea is our biggest-selling herb and we expect to harvest close to 1 tonne this year. We use the whole herb including washed roots, that are chopped and then immersed in alcohol within hours of harvesting. The herb is steeped for at least 3 weeks, turning regularly to improve extraction. It is then pressed, filtered and tested ready for bottling to send on to customers. We have a lot of the Herbfarmacy team helping out, it’s hard work but as always very rewarding!
So what are the benefits of using Echinacea?
Most famously, Echinacea is used as a remedy to benefit those who have a cold or flu like symptoms. It’s generally accepted that having a regular Echinacea intake can not only help to lessen and reduce the duration of cold symptoms, but also to prevent colds in the first place.
So, how does Echinacea work? This relief can be attributed to the organic phenol compounds found in the plant. Phenols contain antioxidant properties, which are beneficial to human health.
Echinacea plant-based remedies are widely acknowledged to increase the production of white blood cells in the body. Our immune systems rely on white blood cells to prevent and ease the symptoms of colds, while the plant’s genetic makeup contains antimicrobial substances which fight off negative microorganisms.
Where can I find Echinacea in Herbfarmacy products?
Because of the above it’s no surprise that Echinacea is one of the most common natural herbal remedies which is why we use it in our popular Echinacea & Elderberry Tonic and Echinacea Tincture which comes in three different sizes.
With a delicate, enchanting fragrance this mildly astringent herb is also well suited for closing the pores after cleansing. This makes Echinacea the perfect herb for the Herbfarmacy Rose & Echinacea Toner.
